About Concern

We are a global community of humanitarians, partners, community members, supporters, donors, and volunteers who share a common vision of a world where no one lives in poverty, fear, or oppression, and all can exercise their rights to a decent standard of living, can have access to the opportunities and choices essential to a long, healthy, and creative life, and can be treated with dignity and respect.

We are believers in the concept that eliminating extreme poverty is possible, and we act on that belief every day.

We are innovators who have been at the forefront of engineering transformative approaches to the treatment of malnutrition, maternal & child health care, mobile cash transfers, disaster recovery and more.

We are convinced from experience that change happens first at the community level, when a group of like-minded people are equipped and empowered to improve the lives and futures of their families. The change becomes lasting when we share the knowledge we gain and help partner organizations and governments reach people on a much larger scale.

We are consistent, going to some of the hardest places and staying after the spotlight has moved on, until the work is done, to help make sure change is sustainable.

We are partners, not aid-givers, because we know that the extreme poor must not be regarded as ‘beneficiaries’ if true and lasting transformation is the goal. Development is a dialogue, a process, and a collaborative effort. Though we stay as long as needed, our goal is to work ourselves out of a job.

We are today nearly 3,000 highly skilled and committed professionals who share an exceptional depth of experience, talent, commitment and diversity, and more than 90% of us are working in our home countries and communities.

We are Concern Worldwide.

OUR VISION

Concern’s work is informed by a vision for change. We envision a world in which no one lives in poverty, fear, or oppression; in which all have access to a decent standard of living and the opportunities and choices essential to a long, healthy, and creative life; and in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives that last and spread without ongoing support from Concern.

Our role is to ensure that people living in extreme poverty are able to meet their basic needs, achieve their rights and manage their own development. We do so by working with communities and by using our shared experience and knowledge to address the root causes of extreme poverty. To achieve this mission, we engage in long-term development work and respond to emergency situations.

Our History

Concern Worldwide was founded in Ireland in 1968 by a small group of people who joined together to respond to the devastating famine in Biafra. Our founders launched a nationwide appeal that raised over a quarter of a million pounds in three months, and “Africa Concern”—a non-governmental, non-denominational, humanitarian aid organization—was born. As our work spread beyond Africa in the succeeding years, we were renamed Concern Worldwide to reflect our global reach.

Over the course of nearly half a century, we have grown from a localized grassroots movement into a highly respected global organization, now implementing programs in 29 countries reaching 7.4 million people. We maintain deep roots from our earliest days in effective emergency response, while also working to achieve lasting change through long-term development programs.

CORE VALUES

Our values are rooted in our Irish origins, our shared culture of courage and perseverance in the face of extreme poverty and suffering, and our clear focus on transformation through community empowerment. They are:

The fundamental belief that all people are entitled to equal rights, regardless of circumstance

A commitment to rapid and effective emergency response in strict adherence to humanitarian principles

The operational imperative that all of our work starts with listening to extremely poor people in their communities, ultimately empowering them to transform their lives

The relentless pursuit of solutions that are innovative as well as pragmatic, in response to specific community needs

Complete accountability and transparency in all of our actions and use of resources.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRENGTHS

Our team of nearly 3,000 highly skilled and committed workers represents an exceptional depth of experience, talent, commitment and diversity. Our on-the-ground presence in 29 countries gives us a base in places most likely to be affected by humanitarian crises.

Our track record, particularly in emergency response, child survival, and nutrition, is recognized internationally as being of exceptionally high quality.

SUPPORT US

Your generous support will provide crucial aid to the poorest people in 26 of the world’s least developed countries.